La Liga: Atletico move five points clear in Spain

With a victory over Villarreal, Atletico Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to five points.

Atletico, aiming to win the Spanish title for the first time since 2013-14, went ahead thanks to an own goal from Villarreal’s Alfonso Pedraza.

In the second half, Joao Felix doubled their lead with a low attack.

The result places them five points ahead of Barcelona in second position and six points ahead of Real Madrid, whom Atletico will host in a derby match on March 7th.

After going three games without a win and losing 1-0 to Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, Atletico was looking to get back on track.

They have the best defensive record in La Liga, conceding just 16 goals in 24 games, despite this being their first clean sheet in ten games in all competitions.

If Real Sociedad wins at home on Monday, they will leapfrog Barcelona into second place.